Heat transfer pin of heat exchanger

ABSTRACT

A heat transfer pin of a heat exchanger, in which slits in the first row, slits in the second row, slits in the third row, and slits in the fourth row are arranged in parallel with an inflow direction of Pal air such that the interval between a virtual line crossing the centers of heat transfer pipes and the slit in the second or third row is larger than the interval between the slit in the first row and the slit in the second row or the interval between the slit in the third row and the slit in the fourth row, and is at least three times the width of each of the slits in the first to fourth rows, thus easily discharging condensed water formed on the heat transfer pipes to the outside and reducing resistance when the air flows. The slits in the first and second rows and the slits m the third and fourth rows, each having the shape of a parallelogram, are symmetrical with each other for the virtual line crossing the centers of the heat transfer pipes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heat transfer pin of a heat exchanger and, more particularly, to a heat transfer pin of a heat exchanger, in which slits in the first row, slits in the second row, slits in the third row, and slits in the fourth row are arranged in parallel with an inflow direction of external air such that the interval between a central line crossing the centers of heat transfer pipes and the slit in the second or third row is larger than the interval between the slit in the fist row and the slit in the second row or the interval between the slit in the third row and the slit in the fourth row, and is at least three times the width of each of the slits in the first to fourth rows, thus easily discharging condensed water formed on heat transfer pipes to the outside and reducing resistance when the air flows.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, air conditioners are classified into a standing air conditioner, in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are integrally formed with each other, and a wall-mounted air conditioner, in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are separated from each other.

In the standing air conditioner, the indoor unit has an evaporator, which is connected to the outdoor unit and serves to absorb heat and supply cold air.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an indoor unit 1 of a standing air conditioner comprises an inlet port 10 formed through the lower portion thereof, an outlet port 20 formed through the upper portion thereof, and an evaporator 30 and a fan 40 installed therein.

When the fan 40 is driven, external air is sucked into the indoor unit 1 through the inlet port 10, and the sucked air exchanges heat with the evaporator 30 so that the temperature of the air is lowered.

The cold air obtained by the heat exchange with the evaporator 30 passes through the fan 40, and is discharged to the outside of the indoor unit 1 through the outlet port 20 formed through the upper portion of the indoor unit 1.

Here, the evaporator 30 is provided with a plurality of heat transfer pins 50, and heat transfer pipes 52 are arranged in parallel in the heat transfer pins 50.

Slits 60 for performing heat exchange are formed in each of the heat transfer 50 at positions between the neighboring heat transfer pipes 52.

Each of the slits 60 comprises a protruding portion 62 protruded from the base surface of the heat transfer pin 50 by a designated distance, and leg portions 64 extended from both sides of the protruding portion 62 for supporting the protruding portion 62 on the base surface of the heat transfer pin 50.

Here, a plurality of slits 60 are arranged in parallel between the neighboring heat transfer pipes 52, and have a n shape.

The plurality of slits 60 form six rows to increase the dimensions of contact surfaces with flowing air.

However, since the conventional evaporator is fixed to the inner wall of the indoor unit at a designated tilt angle, air supplied from the outside collides with the insides of the leg portions of the plurality of slits 60 forming multiple rows, thereby generating a large amount of noise and lowering heat exchange efficiency due to increase of ventilating resistance.

Further, since the interval between the slits is relatively narrow, the slits interfere with an exhaust route of condensed water generated due to contact with air.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a heat transfer pin of a heat exchanger, in which four slits having a single shape are arranged in parallel on the heat transfer pin and meet the edge of the heat transfer pin at a designated tilt angle and the interval between any one of two inner slits and a virtual line crossing the centers of heat transfer pipes is at least three time the width of each of the sifts and the outer slits have a length smaller than that of the inner slits, thus reducing ventilating resistance of the external air and easily discharging condensed water formed on the heat transfer pipes to the outside.

In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a heat transfer pin of a heat exchanger, installed in an indoor unit of an air conditioner at a designated gradient and comprising slits in the first row, slits in the second row, slits in the third row, and slits in the fourth row, which are arranged in parallel between neighboring heat transfer pipes in order in an inflow direction of external air, wherein the slits in the first and second rows and the slits in the third and fourth rows, each having the shape of a parallelogram, are symmetrical with each other with respect to a virtual line crossing the centers of the heat transfer pipes on the stand heat transfer pin; and the interval between the virtual line and the slit in the second or third row is larger than the interval between the slit in the first row and the slit in the second row or the interval between the slit in the third row and the slit in the fourth row, and is at least three times the width of each of the slits in the first to fourth rows.

The slits in the first to fourth rows may meet a line parallel with the lengthwise edge of the heat transfer pin at a tilt angle of 5˜10°, thus easily discharging condensed water formed on the heat transfer pipes to the outside through the flow of the external air.

Further, the length of the slit in the first row may be 0.5 to 0.8 times the length of the slit in the second row, and ends of the slits in the first and second rows, which directly contact the flowing external air, may meet the inflow direction of the external air at a tilt angle of 70-80°.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an indoor unit of a conventional sting air conditioner,

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a heat transfer pin installed in an evaporator of the indoor unit of the conventional standing air conditioner,

FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged view of the heat transfer pin of FIG. 2, illustrating slits; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a heat transfer pin in accordance with the present invention, illustrating arrangement of slits.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Now, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a heat transfer pin in accordance with the present invention, illustrating arrangement of slits.

As shown in FIG. 4, the heat transfer pin 150 of the present invention is installed in an indoor unit (not shown) of a standing air conditioner. Here, the heat transfer pin 150 is installed in the indoor unit at a designated gradient The heat transfer pin 150 comprises slits 162 in the first row, slits 164 in the second row, slits 166 in the third row, and slits 168 in the fourth row, which are arranged between neighboring heat transfer pipes 152 in order in an inflow direction (W) of external air.

Each of the slits 162 in the first row, the slits 164 in the second row, the slits 166 in the third row, and the slits 168 in the fourth row has the shape of a parallelogram Here, the slits 162 and 164 in the fist and second rows and the slits 166 and 168 in the third and fourth rows are symmetrical with each other with re to a virtual line (α) crossing the centers of the heat transfer pipes 152.

The above arrangement of the slits 162, 164, 166 and 168 serves to prevent or reduce the generation of eddies of air at first ends 162 a and 164 a of the slits 162 and 164 in the first and second rows and the rear ends 166 b and 16 b of the slits 166 and 168 in the third and fourth rows, which contact the flowing air, due to the diagonal inflow direction (W) of external air between the neighboring heat transfer pipes 152.

Since the slits 162 and 164 in the first and second rows and the slits 166 and 168 in the third and fourth rows are identical with each other with respect to the virtual line (α) crossing the centers of the heat transfer pins 152, the (β) between the virtual line (α) and the slit 164 in the second row is equal to the interval (β) between the virtual line (α) and the slit 166 in the third row.

Here, the interval (β) between the virtual line (α) and the slit 164 in the second row or the interval (β) between the virtual line (α) and the slit 166 in the third row is larger than the interval (γ) between the slit 162 in the first row and the slit 164 in the second row or the interval (γ) between the slit 166 in the third row and the slit 168 in the fourth row.

This serves to allow external air, supplied from one side of the heat transfer pin 150, to be concentrated on the virtual line (α) to increase a heat transfer effect and to reduce interference between the air flowing toward the other side of the heat transfer pin 150 and the slits 164 and 166 in the second and third rows.

The interval (β) between the virtual line (α) and the slit 164 or 166 in the second or third row is at least tree times the width (δ) of each of the slits 162, 164, 166, and 168.

This serves to assure a sufficient space between the neighboring heat transfer pipes 152 to increase a discharge amount of the condensed water, which is formed on the heat transfer pipes 152, to the outside of the heat transfer pipes 152 due to flowing in a comparatively wide space and to effectively discharge the condensed water to the outside of the heat transfer pipes 152.

Further, the slits 162, 164, 166, and 168 in the first, second, third, and fourth rows meet a line parallel with the lengthwise edge of the heat transfer pin 150 at a tilt angle of 5˜10°.

The reason that the slits 162, 164, 166, and 168 in the first second, third, and fourth rows meet the line parallel with the lengthwise edge of the heat transfer pin 150 at a tilt angle of 5˜10° that the slits 162, 164, 166, and 168 meet the inflow direction of the clean air at an obtus angle or are parallel with the inflow direction of the external air so that the air smoothly flows to reduce the generation of noise.

Since the slits 162, 164, 166, and 168 in the fist, second, third, and fourth rows meet the lengthwise edge of the heat transfer pin 150 at a tilt angle (θ) of 5˜10°, the slits 162, 164, 166, and 168 in the first, second, third, and fourth rows meet the virtual line (α) crossing the centers of the heat transfer pins 152 at the same tilt angle, thus allowing the slits 164 and 166 in the second and third rows to be separated from the virtual line (α) by the interval (β).

The slit 162 in the first row and the slit 164 in the second row have different lengths under the condition that the ends of the slits 162 and 164 in the first and second rows opposite to the inflow side of the external air contact a tangent line parallel with the tangent line of the neighboring heat transfer pipe 152.

That is, the rear ends 162 b and 164 b of the slits 162 and 164 in the first and second rows, which are opposite to the front ends 162 a and 164 a of the slits 162 and 164 in the first and second rows initially contacting the external air, and partially contact a straight line parallel with the tangent line of the neighboring heat transfer pipe 152.

Here, the slit 162 in the first row and the slit 164 in the second row have different lengths so that the slit 162 in the first row and the slit 164 in the second row have different distances from a line perpendicular to the inflow direction (W) of the external air.

More specifically, the length of the slit 162 in the first row is 0.5 to 0.8 times the length of the slit 164 in the second row.

When the length of the slit 162 in the first row is less than 0.5 times the length of the slit 164 in the second row, the heat exchange area of the slit 162 in the first row with the air is decreased, thus deteriorating heat exchange efficiency.

On the other hand, when the length of the slit 162 in the first row exceeds 0.8 times the length of the slit 164 in the second row, the flowing air contacts the front end 162 a and the outer surface of the slit 162 in the first row, and is not sufficiently supplied to a space between the slit 162 in the first row and the slit 164 in the second row, thus lowering a heat exchange effect. Further, since the heat transfer pin 150 is standard under the condition that the slits 162 and 164 in the first and second rows meet the lengthwise edge of the heat transfer pin 150 at a tilt angle (θ) of 5˜10°, the slit 162 in the first row may have a designated length such that the front end 162 a of the slit 162 in the first row deviates from the edge of the heat transfer pin 150.

The slit 166 in the third row and the slit 168 in the fourth row have the same shapes as the slit 162 in the first row and the slit 164 in the second row, and a detailed description thereof will be thus omitted.

The ends of the slits 162 and 164 in the first and second rows, which directly contact the supplied extern air, meet the inflow direction (W) of the external air at an angle (σ) of 70˜80°.

More specifically, the edge of the front end 162 a of the slit 162 in the first row meets the inflow direction (W) of the external air at an angle (σ) of 80°.

When the edge of the front end 162 a of the slit 162 in the first row meets the inflow direction (W) of the external air at an angle (σ) below 70°, the contact time of the flowing external air with the front end 162 a of the slit 162 in the first row is decreased, thus lowering a heat transfer effect. On the other hand, when the edge of the front end 162 a of the slit 162 in the first row meets the inflow direction (W) of the external air at an angle (σ) above 80°, the angle between the front end 162 a of the slit 162 in the first row and the inflow direction (W) of the external air is close to a right angle, and the front end 162 a of the slit 162 in the first row interferes with the flowing air, thus generating a large amount of noise.

Further, the edge of the front end 164 a of the slit 164 in the second row meets the inflow direction (W) of the external air at an angle (σ) of 70°.

When the edge of the front end 164 a of the slit 164 in the second row meets the inflow direction (W) of the external air at an angle (σ) below 70°, the contact time of the flowing external air with the front end 164 a of the slit 164 in the second row is decreased, thus lowing a heat transfer effect. On the other hand, when the edge of the front end 164 a of the slit 164 in the second row meets the inflow direction (W) of the external air at an angle (σ) above 80°, the inflow direction (W) of the external air is not concentrated on the inside of the slit 166 in the third row.

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a heat transfer pin of a heat exchanger, in which slits meet with the edge of the heat transfer pin at a designated angle so as to reduce the generation of noise due to contact with external air, and outer slits have a length smaller than that of inner slits so as to reduce ventilating resistance and to maxi heat exchange efficiency.

Further, since the interval between the two inner slits is maximally increased, a large amount of the external air flows between the two inner slits and is concentrated on heat transfer pipes, thereby allowing condensed water formed on the heat transfer pipes to be sufficiently discharged to the outside.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. 

1. A heat transfer pin of a heat exchanger, installed in an indoor unit of an air conditioner at a designated gradient and comprising slits in the first row, slits in the second row, slits in the third row, and slits in the fourth row, which are arranged in parallel between neighboring heat transfer pipes in order in an inflow direction of external air, wherein: the slits in the first and second rows and the slits in the third and fourth rows, each having a shape of a parallelogram, are symmetrical with each other with respect to a virtual line crossing the centers of the heat transfer pipes on the standardized heat transfer pin; and the interval between the virtual line and the slit in the second or third row is larger than the interval between the slit in the first row and the slit in the second row or the interval between the slit in the third row and the slit in the fourth row, and is at least three times the width of each of the slits in the first to fourths rows.
 2. The heat transfer pin as set forth in claim 1, wherein the slits in the first to fourth rows meet a line parallel with the lengthwise edge of the heat transfer pin at a tilt angle of 5° to 10°.
 3. The heat transfer pin as set forth in claim 1, wherein the slit in the first row and the slit in the second row have different lengths under the condition that ends of the slits in the first and second rows opposite to the side of the heat transfer pin, into which the external air flows, contact a tangent line parallel with the tangent line of the neighboring heat transfer pipe.
 4. The heat transfer pin as set forth in claim 3, wherein the length of the slit in the first row is 0.5 to 0.8 times the length of the slit in the second row.
 5. The heat transfer pin as set forth in claim 1, wherein ends of the slits in the first and second rows, which directly contact the flowing external air, meet the inflow direction of the external air at a tilt angle of 70° to 80°.
 6. The heat transfer pin as set forth in claim 2, wherein ends of the slits in the first and second rows, which directly contact the flowing external air, meet the inflow direction of the external air at a tilt angle of 70° to 80°.
 7. The heat transfer pin as set forth in claim 3, wherein ends of the slits in the first and second rows, which directly contact the flowing external air, meet the inflow direction of the external air at a tilt angle of 70° to 80°.
 8. The heat transfer pin as set forth in claim 4, wherein ends of the slits in the first and second rows, which directly contact the flowing external air, meet the inflow direction of the external air at a tilt angle of 70° to 80°. 